This invention relates to a system and a method for brewing and dispensing hot beverages. Specifically, this invention relates to a system and method for brewing a beverage, such as coffee, at high temperature at one location, transporting the brewed beverage to a remote dispensing location while maintaining the beverage at a lower, optimum serving temperature, and dispensing the hot beverage at the remote location. Typical applications for this invention include both institutional facilities, such as restaurants and banquet halls, and retail specialty stores. Most institutional and retail beverage facilities rely on conventional brewing products to brew and dispense hot beverages. Conventional products include 12 cup glass bottle brewers, mid capacity, portable container brewers, or larger capacity urn type brewers. Each of these conventional systems presents problems to its operators.
One problem with conventional systems is degradation of the quality of the brewed beverage. In conventional systems, the beverage is often brewed and stored in the same container; the glass bottle or urn vessel. Storing the brewed beverage in the same vessel at high temperature often results in degradation of the quality of the beverage. The small glass bottle brewers are the most common type used in retail facilities. The operator brews the beverage into the small glass bottle at one location and either leaves the bottle on a warmer at the brewing location or moves the bottle to a remote storage and dispensing location. The remote location typically includes a heated warmer on which the glass bottle is stored when the beverage is not being dispensed. The heated warmer is intended to maintain the beverage at a desired serving temperature. However, typically the warmer has a single heat setting independent of the volume of beverage being warmed. Accordingly, the temperature of the beverage varies depending on the volume contained in the glass bottle. The mid-sized brewer may include an insulated or non-insulated storage container which can be moved to a remote location for dispensing. The non-insulated storage container must be placed on a warmer to maintain the serving temperature of the beverage. The warmer of the mid-sized brewer has the same problem as the glass bottle brewer; degrading coffee quality. The urn brewing system also degrades the quality of the beverage. The urn is a large vessel consisting of one, two, or three product liners surrounded by a tank of water. The water in the tank is used to brew the beverage and is, therefore, maintained at approximately 200.degree. F. After brewing, the water in the tank maintains the temperature of the brewed beverage at approximately 200.degree. F. which degrades the beverage quality over time. In specialty retail facilities, brewed beverages must be able to be stored at serving temperature for at least one hour without degrading the quality of the beverage. In institutional facilities, the brewed beverage must be able to be stored at serving temperature for at least two hours without degradation. Conventional brewing systems do not allow for these longer storage times without degrading the quality of the beverage.
Another problem with some of the conventional brewing systems is volume. The glass bottle brewing system can only brew about 12 cups at a time. Accordingly, to brew larger volumes of beverages, multiple brewers and brew locations are required. The mid-sized brewer is capable of brewing larger quantities, approximately one to one and one-half gallons. However, for most institutional and specialty retail facilities, neither of these systems is capable of producing sufficient quantities of brewed beverages. In addition, it is desirable to have one, central brew location which cannot be accomplished by either of these systems for high volume production.
Yet another problem with conventional urn brewing systems is the manual transfer of the beverage from the brewing vessel to the storage or remote dispensing vessel. Such manual transfer is awkward and inefficient.
In specialty retail facilities, it is desirable to have an appealing cafe atmosphere and to maintain direct eye contact with the customers. Accordingly, large brewing equipment or storage containers cannot be placed on the service counters. However, efficiency demands that the personnel serving the customers be able to quickly and efficiently dispense large volumes of hot beverages in single servings.
One solution to the problems discussed above was suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 4,790,239 (HEWITT). HEWITT disclosed a conventional brewing urn for brewing coffee. The brewed coffee is transferred to a holding tank located in an available location in the facility. The beverage is transferred either via gravity feed or via a gravity assist centrifugal pump. A pressure pump pressurizes the holding tank to force the coffee through a series of conduits to one or more dispensing taps. The holding tank and the conduits are permanently plumbed into the facility and, in some cases, the length of the conduits may exceed sixty feet. A circulating hot water line is used to heat the beverage in the conduits and in the holding tank.
While HEWITT attempts to solve some of the problems discussed above, it presents further problems for the operator of the beverage facility. The extreme length of the conduits causes the beverage to lose temperature and degrade in quality. The complexity of the system also presents maintenance problems. HEWITT consists of many conduits, switches, and pumps. Since the conduits are permanently plumbed into the facility, typically under the service counters, cleaning and repair operations are difficult. In addition, the centrifugal gravity assist pumps cause unnecessary churning of the beverage further degrading the quality. The permanent installation precludes remote dispensing in locations other than those for which the permanent plumbing has provided.